Re: Alfalfa Tea

Irisgrower@aol.com wrote:
>
> I would like to know how to make "alfalfa tea". Is the tea application more
> effective than a top dressing of the meal or pelletized form? I usually
> apply a low nitrogen fertilizer to my tall bearded irises about a month
> before bloom time (which is the last week of May to mid-June here in
> Mansfield.) Does the alfalfa take the place of the commercial fertilizer, or
> should it be applied in addition to it?
I don't have a specific recipe for alfalfa tea other than fill a barrel
(or trash can) one third to one half full with alfalfa, fill the rest of
the way with water and let sit for a day or so. Anybody else???
I do have some comments about top dressing with alfalfa pellets. I did
it this last fall (before our rainy season - which passes for winter
here). A lot of them caught at the base of the fans and then at the
first rain the pellets swelled up about three fold. I don't know that it
would have been bad for the rhizomes to be covered that way, but it made
me nervous, so I scrapped it off the rhizomes. Since then, in our rain,
sun, rain, sun, rain, sun environment, the resultant mush gets a little
crusty as it dries out. Maybe it will break down as the weather clears.
In the future I think I will stick to tea if necessary and tilling
pellets in before planting (definitely).
> We are troubled by iris borer here. Does anyone know of an effective
> deterrent that is not as highly toxic as Lindane or Cygon?
Others may have more comments, but the best I remember form our
discussions last year were "hand picking."
> Kay Hostetler - Irisgrower@AOL,com
By the way, you need a period | there, not a comma.
---
John | "There be dragons here"
| Annotation used by ancient cartographers
| to indicate the edge of the known world.
John Jones, jijones@ix.netcom.com
Fremont CA, USDA zone 8/9 (coastal, bay)
Max high 95F/35C, Min Low 28F/-2C average 10 days each
Heavy clay base for my raised beds.